Writers Strike & Scabs

Eugenie Ross-Leming’s letter warps beyond reason what really happened Aug. 7 at the Palladium when the Writers Guild convened to vote on the producers’ final of many final offers (Calendar Letters, Aug. 14).

True, several someones passed out lists of the “Scab 21,” a list of those who had filed a lawsuit against their guild demanding the right to cross picket lines and return to work. And, true, board member Allan Manings attempted to list those names from the podium, which he probably should not have done.

But when Ross-Leming says that the WGA “Board permitted such petty vilification,” that’s dead wrong. President George Kirgo ruled Manings out of order, quite clearly.

There was an outcry from the floor and Kirgo, attempting to maintain order, called for a floor vote as to whether those present agreed with his ruling. For the first time in this strike, a ruling of the chair was overruled--and by a wide margin.

Clearly, the vast majority of those assembled felt that it was proper, at least that the “21” answer for what they had done.

My reading of this and other standing ovations of the house that day is that 90% of those present felt that the “21” had done nothing heroic; that, having lost previous votes fair-and-square, they instead took to looking for loopholes to put pressure on our Negotiating Committee to bend their way.

No one should be blacklisted for an act of conscience. But those who publicly insulted their fellow members and vowed to overrule and end a majority-voted strike because they had deals pending cannot escape responsibility for their actions by crying “blacklist” because a lot of us are very, very mad at them.

MARK EVANIER

Los Angeles

Los Angeles